While one would have thought the the Wall Street “bailout bill” would have addressed only issues regarding troubled financial institutions and the credit crunch, somehow the final legislation signed into law also contained a plethora of other items.  Included in that list are changes that will impact employee benefit plans for years to come.

The most significant of the changes is an expansion of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse parity provisions in health plans.  All group health plans, whether governed by state laws or ERISA at the federal level, will now have to ensure that any benefits for mental health or substance abuse do not differ in their design (such as day or annual limits, separate deductibles, co-pays, or co-insurance) from the “physical” health benefits contained in the plan.  Further, if the rest of the health plan offers coverage for out-of-network providers, so too must out-of-network coverage be offered for mental health and substance abuse benefits.

Watch for further guidance in this area.  As we know more (as regulations are written), we’ll provide much more detail on what needs to be done.